Events and Trends Coverage

Taylor Stitch Exclusive Interview (Part II)

Hey all, today we will get right back to our conversation with Mike Maher of Taylor Stitch who are making headway in the fashion world and making some bad-ass and well-tailored clothing out of San Francisco. In case you missed the first part of the interview check it out.

Who are some of the people you admire in the realm of fashion or online shopping?

I like people that create great brands specifically. I have had the pleasure of working with Pierrepont Hicks which is a husband and wife team from Minnesota that makes great ties and bow ties out of old dead stock fabrics. I also admire Nigel Cabourn as a designer for his passion for creating incredible product that is meant to be passed onto your grandkids.

I know you set out to try to make a place where men could buy quality tailored shirts without having to go into the shop to get them… tell me a bit about how you got things started, what some of the hiccups towards the beginning are, and what else you might do in the future to make sure your site remains a place where men can go to get nice shirts.

We basically started with the idea of making tailoring less pretentious. A lot of guys can’t afford to go in and buy 5 tailored shirts at $150 a pop. being online is great and it is phenomenal for getting your word out there but it is also hard to get people to go measure themselves. Most of our shirt sales have come from people directly interacting with us at pop up markets or mini shows or contacting us directly to have a home or office fitting done.

We are definitely focused on our manufacturing and improving those relationships whenever possible. Taylor Stitch is going to really take a step back and focus on our shirts. We have another side project going called the Durable Goods Concern that just put a 3 day pop up market together in San Francisco that will probably end up taking over the representing of other brands so we can focus on the shirts with TS.

What are your big goals for 2010? You had a pretty successful 2009, what would you like to improve upon this year?

Big things are to develop the following of both TS and the DGC. We are going to put one very limited run highly engineered piece out for the DGC come summer time. Once we are happy with our fits for off the rack shirts and have them all dialed in we are going to start doing short runs of shirts under the TS label too and getting the word out a little bit better. Letting people come into contact with our product in a little easier of a way than custom.

I take a lot of inspiration just from watching people and reading too many blogs. Where do you go to get style tips?

I read blogs, watch old movies, try and look at old pictures. I think there is a lot to say about what men used to dress like and how they used to act that is finally coming full circle. How to be a gentleman and how to be capable of everyday things like cutting wood and cooking dinner. It’s rather sad how many people lack these simple abilities. That being said I think there needs to be technology mixed in with all of that. I love to read blogs like the selvedge yard or I look at port authority or the impossible cool. Those sort of classic things get me excited. Then I just talk to people and look for inspiration that way. I’ve had the chance to meet people that geek out over details on things and love to talk about it which is so cool to see!

What was it that made you decide to do this as a career rather than a hobby?

I have nothing to lose but a little money. I figured why not give it a shot and see what happens.

If you could get your clothes to one person who would it be and why?

I am pretty happy with putting it on normal guys right now that are doing cool things. Our local furniture producers, wine makers, shop owners. They are the ones that really create the community that I like and care where things are coming from.

All right, fair enough, but who is the most likely celebrity or internet personality you might catch rocking your duds?

Fine. Steve McQueen or Paul Newman.

As the line is all about being true to yourself: I’ve got to self plug while I’ve got a chance… what does it mean to you to be a ‘Crockstar’?

It is all about producing great product at fairly reasonable prices that will last. I also really enjoy knowing the people that made the clothes for me. It is a much more real story than “Made in China…”

In 2009 bomber jackets were big, elbow pads came back on tweed jackets and skinny jeans took over the world. What’s going to be the “big item” this next year in your opinion?

I’m hoping men just keep pushing themselves towards dressing like a grown up in things that fit. Custom fitted shirts are a great start but there is so much more to that. People need to first understand fit before they understand style because you could be wearing the coolest piece in the world but if it doesn’t fit you just look foolish.

About Me

This is the new home of the Crockstar Limited blog. The blog focuses heavily on trends in fashion music and the internet. The goal is to start an ethically sourced fashion label, but in the meantime the blog will offer insight into the world of an ADD fashion-loving internet geek.